Breach and Clear
by Kar98k
Summary: Modern Day AU - Lt. Margaret "Peggy" Cater, no-nonsense and tough NYPD SWAT Team Leader. Angie Martinelli, a up and coming actress and a waitress at a cafe near a police precinct where Peggy is stationed. When their paths cross one afternoon, both their lives will be affected in more ways than one. Cartinelli story with guest appearances from the MCU.
1. Chapter 1

The day was fairly chilly for early September. The sun was hidden behind thick clouds and a fairly noticeable wind was blowing around the whole city. For Lieutenant Peggy Carter, however, that was not the most important thing right now. She and her team were standing next to their armored van, discussing the best possible avenues of approach.

The call came in at 10:30 AM. A robbery gone sour on a gas station outside town. One possible casualty, three armed robbers and at least five hostages. Peggy and Captain Dooley both guessed it was supposed to be a simple snatch and grab, but now it evolved into a full-fledged siege. Civilian lives were at risk. And that is why she was here.

"The plan is simple, gents." she cleared her throat and spoke. "Me and Dugan enter through the deliveries and clear the back offices. Sousa and you, Thompson, stack up on the service entry to the shop and wait for my signal. Barton is already set up" - she pointed at a roof of a house behind them. They could see the barrel of the standard issue Remington 700 peeking out "... and will provide overwatch and survey the main hall. Understood?"

The three men nodded in acceptance. They worked together long enough to know that Peggy did not put up with nonsense or dumb questions, especially during pre-breach briefings. In the station, banter was allowed in moderation. Now there was no time for joking around.

"Good.", she responded, "Comms on Channel 4 for the whole team. Check weapons and ammo, we move in one mike" she added, brass checking both her MP-5 and her Glock, putting the sidearm back in the hip holster. She looked around and the men followed suit with their equipment. Their faces and body language spoke for them – they were focused, ready to follow orders, and maybe a bit thrilled. They have all seen combat in one way or another, and over two years of service in her team also hardened them.

"All ready? Let's move." she ordered with a commanding tone. They quickly formed their pairs – Peggy and Dugan, Thompson and Sousa. The team quickly moved behind all the parked police cruisers that marked the perimeter border. Soon, they split – Thompson and Sousa set up before the side door to the main shop, while Peggy and Dugan continued their advance towards the delivery area. Both with weapons raised, checking every corner, ready for everything.

"Entry Team, this is Hawkeye, over" sounded the radio. Peggy let out a quiet sigh, hearing the code name Barton came up with recently. While fitting, it still sounded dumb to her. She signaled Dugan to ready up to open the delivery door. He moved up and checked the lock. After that, he gave her a thumbs up. Unlocked.

"Hawkeye, this is Entry Team, report, over." she responded, now crouching with her left knee touching the cold concrete.

"This is Hawkeye. I see three suspects in the main hall. One AK-47, one shotgun, one Uzi. No visible body armor. At least three hostages, over."

"Damn", Peggy said to herself. For some gas station robbers they sure were armed to the teeth. She quickly regained composure and responded.

"Entry Team to Hawkeye. Understood, await further instructions, out."

She nodded at Dugan and quickly joined him. He opened the door and immediately jumped to the left. She followed suit, checking the right. Empty.

"Room clear", whispered Dugan.

"Move up", she retorted "the back offices are right behind that door."

"Roger that", he said, quickly marching up to another door. For a few second they stood still, listening. They heard a faint moan coming from behind the wall. That one possible casualty, most likely. She nodded at Dugan, and he opened the door, moving to the left. She, again, checked the right. She then saw the source of the moan. There was a woman sitting on the floor in the office corner. The shirt she was wearing was bloodied, and Peggy saw at least two bullet wounds – one in the shoulder, the second one in the chest, just under the right breast. She quickly pressed the send button on her radio and reported.

"TOC, this is Entry Team. We have a wounded civilian in the back office. Two gunshot wounds to the arm and chest. Notify the EMTs, over."

"This is TOC. Roger that. Out", Dooley's voice coming in a bit more distorted than she was used to.

The woman raised her head. Peggy met her gaze. It was filled with pain, suffering and sadness. She heard the faint moans and wheezing in her voice. She quickly put her hand on her healthy shoulder and whispered reassuringly.

"Shhh, don't worry. You will be OK. Just hang on..."

Suddenly, she heard a loud noise from the shop up front. _Not good._ She immediately radioed Barton.

"Entry Team to Hawkeye, what is going on, over?"

"This is Hawkeye. A suspect just fired a shotgun into the ceiling. Don't know why. Over"

"Roger that. Prepare to take him down on my mark. Sousa, Thompson, prepare to breach, flash and clear on my mark. Over and out."

"This is Sousa. Roger, out"

"Thompson, Roger, out."

"This is Hawkeye. Roger, out."

"Move up, Dugan" she said, with a tone that could kill were it weaponized. "Breach, flash and clear on my mark".

"Yes ma'am" he answered. She rolled her eyes, but lead the way to the door. Dugan took the spot to the right, his shotgun already aiming at the hinges. Peggy crouched behind him and pulled a flashbang from her vest. She reached for the send button.

"Prepare to execute on my mark"

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

"MARK!" she shouted, louder than she was expecting to. Then, things seemed to go into slow motion.

First, she heard a loud crack and the sound of shattering glass. This was followed by a thud and a cry of pain. _Tango down_ , she thought to herself. Then, she heard an explosion coming from the right side. _Thompson and Sousa_. And finally, she saw Dugan shooting the upper door hinge. She quickly pulled the pin from the flashbang and threw it just as her squad mate kicked the door down. The grenade streaked through the air before hitting one of the Mountain Dew bottles on the shelf and falling lower. Then, she heard two loud explosions. It was time.

"Move, move, move!" she exclaimed, darting through the door and immediately turning left. She saw Sousa and Thompson enter to her right, guns up and ready to fire, shouting as loud as they possibly could.

"NYPD, drop your weapon and hit the floor!" she shouted at the closer assailant, the one with the AK. He was still blinded and possibly deafened, his gun pointing at the floor. She quickly ran up to him and kicked him in the hand, forcing him to drop the weapon. Then, she tackled him with a combination of a kick to the knee and a twist of his arm. The next thing she heard was her radio.

"TOC to entry team, what's your status, over."

She sighed quietly and returned to her suspect. Soon, both his twisted arms were joined behind his back with simple plastic cuffs. Raising her head she saw Thompson securing the second suspect, while Sousa checked on the one shot by Barton. She reached for the button.

"Entry team to TOC. All suspects neutralized. Hostages accounted for. All clear, over."

"TOC to Entry Team. Roger. Out."

"Dugan, get the hostages out of here. Sousa, what's the status on the perp?" she said with a sense of urgency, her voice calm and collected. Dugan nodded and began to lead some of the civilians through the front door.

"Doesn't look to good" she heard Sousa's voice, filled with uncertainty "but I still think he can make it. Get the EMTs in here." The last part said through the radio.

"Just another day at the office, isn't it, Marge?", she heard Thompson, imagining the smirk on his face.

"You have no idea." she fired back, smirking herself. "All right boys, pack up. Our job is done here."

* * *

The ride back to the precinct was rather uneventful. As everybody unwinded, some jokes were cracked, as well as some shoulders were nudged, but outside of that everyone felt relieved and proud of their job today. The Captain ordered them to return and wait for him in his office, as he wrapped up the field work. After changing from their tactical gear, the whole team proceeded as ordered, settling back in the chairs of Captain's office.

"Hey, Barton." asked Dugan, "Have any plans for the evening?"

"Why you asking?" he answered with an interested look on his face.

"I'm going for a drink with some of the patrol guys, so I was thinking..."

"Thanks for the offer, but Laura wanted to go to the cinema today with the kids and I already got the tickets."

"OK then." retorted Dugan, with resignation in his voice "And you guys?"

"I have a date tonight, so not really." answered Thompson.

"A date?" Peggy chimed in "What girl in her right mind would want to date someone like you?"

"My guess is I just got lucky." he said, with a hint of sarcasm and smugness in his voice. Peggy smirked, but did not continue.

"I'm busy with the new furniture, so not really." said Sousa.

"And you, Pegs?"

She looked at him coldly. Dugan gulped. _I think I understand that whole "gaze at the abyss" thing right now_ , he thought to himself.

"Firstly, you do know my feelings about that nickname." she answered, her voice lowered and her accent even more pronounced "Secondly, do you even remember what day it is tomorrow? I thought everyone knows what I want to do then."

He quickly looked at his watch and then it clicked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." he apologized "Simply forgot to check. It won't happen again."

"I surely hope so, _Sergeant Dugan_." she retorted, heavily accenting the last two words.

Their conversation was then interrupted by the doors opening. They all quickly stood up as the Captain walked in.

"At ease", he said in a friendly tone.

They all quickly sat back down as the Captain summed up the whole odeal. Two suspects were in custody, one in the hospital, in a critical state. All six hostages were rescued, the wounded one also being transported to a hospital in a stable condition. He congratulated them on a job well done and then dismissed them home. Peggy was given the task of preparing a full action report for next week. She groaned quietly, but she knew someone had to feed the bureaucracy monster.

As she walked out of the precinct, already in her civilian clothes – sneakers, jeans and a coat over her T-Shirt, that also concealed her gun and badge she had attached to the trouser belt – Peggy suddenly felt really tired. Her small flat was not too far from the station, but she had a sudden craving for a coffee, preferably with some snack to boot. She walked down the street, exchanging a few hellos with other officers. After a few more meters, she saw a café on the other end of the street – the L&L. She heard good opinions about it in the station and the fact that it was right on her way home helped too. She crossed the street and entered the establishment, sitting down in one of the booths. It was only 2 PM at that time, so she managed to get in just after lunch break. This meant that the café was fairly empty. She was flipping through the snack menu when she heard a very friendly sounding voice.

"Welcome to the L&L. How can I help?"

Peggy looked up and saw the waitress standing over her, smiling. She was of medium height, with brown, curly hair and full, blue eyes. Peggy suddenly felt more relaxed as weird warmth spread through her.

"I'll have a coffee and a BLT, please." she answered, smiling herself now.

"OK, no problem." the waitress answered, "Nice accent, by the way. English, am I right?"

"Yes, London, to be exact." Peggy said, looking at the name tag at the same time. _Angie_. She thought. _Will have to remember that_.

"Never been there, sadly, plane ticket prices and all that" Angie answered, "but I'd love to see the West End and all that... OK, let me just get you your stuff, English, and then we might talk a bit more"

"Sure", Peggy answered, prompting the waitress to move back to the bar. _Did she just call me "English"?_ Soon, she returned, coffee in one hand and a plate in the other. She placed them in front of Peggy and then slid into the cushion opposite her.

"So, what does a cutie like you do here?" Angie asked, curiosity beaming from her. "Tourist? Work?"

Instead of answering, Peggy grabbed the right side of the coat and pulled it back slightly. Angie looked and then gasped, noticing the holster and the badge.

"I'm so sorry, Officer..."

"Just call me Peggy, Angie." she said, smiling "And I'm after hours, so don't worry, I won't be arresting no one." she smirked at her.

"A cop with a sense of humor? That's a rare treat." Angie answered "But since we now know you're an Officer, what do you do exactly?"

"Not much" answered Peggy. _Why am I lying?_ "Mostly paperwork. I'm more a desk jockey than a street cop". She stopped, thinking. _Why did I just say that? It's not like I'm with the CIA and have to lie to people about what I actually do..._

"English?" she suddenly heard "Everything OK?"

"Yes, I'm just a bit tired. Long shift and all that." she answered, quickly regaining composure. "And do you do something else than just work here?"

"Well," Angie began, with a sigh "outside of shifts here it's mostly auditions, casting calls and all that. I just work here to pay the bills. You know, girl's gotta eat."

"I can bet you will land something big soon." Peggy said, confident.

"Yesterday, I had an audition. They threw me out after two bars." she said, with a hint of anger behind her voice. "I know I have talent. It's just those fatheads being deaf and blind, I guess."

"That's why I'm saying you will be successful. I'm sure of it". Peggy saw Angie smile again.

"Hey, miss!" a loud voice rolled through the café "You work here or what?", a man said, snapping his fingers at Angie.

Angie rolled her eyes and stood up. "Duty calls." she said, with a sigh.

"Sorry for distracting you." Peggy apologized quickly. Angie looked her in the eyes and then put her finger in front of her lips

"Shut up, English, you talk too much.", she smirked and then turned to face the jerk customer. Peggy herself cracked a half-smile, taking a sip from the mug and a bite out of the sandwich. Soon, a few more people came in, so Angie was busy again. Peggy finished her meal, drank the coffee and paid, leaving a fairly generous tip. Then she stood up and left, crossing the gaze with Angie as she walked out. She saw her smile and then wave her hand. She smiled back and exited the café. Back on the street, she turned towards her apartment.

On the way, she thought about the whole day. Suddenly, her thoughts drifted back to that fuzzy feeling she felt when she saw Angie. It was quite refreshing and nice at the same time, as she hadn't felt that for a long time. Not since...

Steve.

And then Bucky.

"Oh God."

She said quietly to herself as she reached for the key to her apartment. She quickly opened the door, entered the flat and put the keys on the kitchen counter. She locked the door and then sat on the couch in the living room. She sighed deeply, suddenly feeling a single tear traveling down her cheek. She wiped it off and moved to the kitchen, keeping her emotions in check. She reemerged a few moments later with an open bottle of beer. She took a large gulp before cracking a look at her phone. She focused on the date.

 _September 10th 2014_

 _13 years pass tomorrow._

 _13 years from the moment my world fell apart._

* * *

 _A/N -_ My first ever stab at fan fiction. Reviews, suggestions and constructive criticism more than welcome. I intend to make this a multi-part affair and not just a one-shot with a cliffhanger.

The main change from the established universe is that Sousa is not disabled here. He is still a war veteran, though (background of the whole team will be explored later).


	2. Chapter 2

As she looked at the phone, memories started flooding back in.

Their first meeting at the university, first date and a start of a wonderful relationship. Of course, Peggy had a few partners before Steve, but none of them could even measure up once she met him. Caring, humble, shy, but also strong, intelligent and passionate. She herself shared a lot of traits with him, but having him at her side always empowered her even more. Soon, she found herself living together with him. It was as close to perfection as you could get.

Her memories then shifted to that fateful day. Even though 13 years have passed, she still remembered it as if it had happened yesterday.

September 11th, 2001.

It was supposed to be a big day for Steve. He was supposed to start his new job that day at a finance and accounting firm in downtown Manhattan. Big salary, great prospects and, above all, the locale – the 95th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. His determination finally paying off. Peggy herself got infected with all the positive buzz Steve was projecting the day before. He even offered to take her to dinner out in the town after he'd return from work.

She was woken up by his alarm clock on 6 AM. He had to get up and get to work at 8 AM sharp, so that early call was perfectly reasonable. She stayed in bed, awake, but with her eyes closed, listening to him prepare for his big day. She was proud of him being successful and relieved to have such a great partner at her side. Just before he left, he kissed her on the cheek and whispered:

"Bye, Pegs. See you in the afternoon."

"Bye Steve. Don't stay there too long." she whispered in response.

"Can't promise that, but I'll try." he answered and the left the bedroom. She heard the front door open and then close. Peggy then drifted back to sleep – fortunately, she took a day off at her own work, so she could afford to stay in bed for a bit more.

She woke back up at 8:30. After staying in bed for a minute, she finally got up and immediately went to the bathroom to get a shower and get herself ready for the day. She left the bathroom after ten minutes, going to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. Before she started cooking, she turned on the TV to listen to some news. Midway through her food preparation she noticed something was off. The tones of the voices of the TV casters changed – from upbeat and cheerful to flustered and confused. She didn't hear too well, but was able to discern singular words and phrases.

 _Explosion_

 _Plane_

 _World Trade Center_

 _Fire_

 _Oh God, Steve._ She thought to herself as she quickly finished up the cooking and darted to the living room. What she saw then shocked and chilled her down to the bone. On the screen, she saw the Two Towers, filmed from a helicopter. The Southern one was intact, but the top of the North one was seriously damaged. A giant gash in the outer wall marked the damaged area, with a column of smoke rising up into the air. In an instant, Peggy grabbed the phone and dialed Steve's number. After three signals, he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Steve it's Peggy. Are you OK? What happened? What is going on down there?"

"I don't really know." he said, with a tremble in his voice. He was scared, Peggy knew that. "I was sitting in the office, and then I heard a noise. I looked out of the window and then this plane, it..."

"A plane?" Peggy asked, both shocked and surprised.

"Yes, it came in low and fast, and smashed head on. It was big, I thought the glass was gonna pop in here. You could feel the ground shake."

"OK, where are you now? Are you safe?" she said quickly, her own voice trembling and her hands shaking.

"I'm on the 82nd floor now. We're waiting for now, but I think they will evacuate us in a moment."

"Whatever you do, just get out of there. I have bad feelings about this."

"Yes, of course Pegs, I... oh my God... oh my God." he replied, scared as she had never heard him be.

"Steve, what's going on?!" she said, confused and frightened.

"Pegs... I love you..." she heard his voice crack and a sob.

"STEVE!" she shouted, looking up to the TV screen.

"Oh my God" she said to herself.

To the right of the screen she saw a big plane coming in. Fast, flying low, banked to the left. It then disappeared from view. She looked to the left, and saw a giant fireball take shape as the aircraft inevitably slammed right into the South tower. Soon, the footage was replayed. She saw it again, frozen in shock, in more detail. Coming into view again, hitting the tower with full force, exploding, engulfing the building in flames, debris falling to the ground.

Then she realized she was still holding the phone in her hands. But all she heard was silence.

"Steve?" she said, feeling her eyes water and her heart ache. No answer.

She dialed the number again and pressed the green button. No response. Only silence, except the anchors on the TV, shocked probably as much as she was.

She sobbed and stared crying. She felt her whole body ache, her stomach wrenching, her chest burning. She hid her face in her hands as tears started flowing down her cheeks, hitting the carpet.

Suddenly, she felt empty inside, as if something was taken from her. Something valuable, precious, treasured. Beloved.

Some force came in and ripped Steve from her. She was overwhelmed by sadness and grief. She then collapsed on the couch, sobbing.

After that the memories were blurry again, with only some moments being seen clearly. Bucky coming in, grieving with her over the loss. The sight of the Towers falling to the ground. Steve's funeral. Bucky helping with her apartment change, taking care of Steve's things. And, the Discovery.

The Discovery, as she later called it, hurt her nearly as much as seeing her beloved Steve die right there, on live TV. She was packing up his things – Bucky offered to help distribute them to people in need. She was just moving his shirts from the wardrobe when she heard something hit the floorboards. She looked down. And then held her breath, again feeling her heart sink.

It was a small, black cube. She picked it up from the floor and opened it. When she saw what was inside, she sobbed and burst into tears right there, on the spot, collapsing to her knees.

It was a ring. A simple, gold ring with a diamond on top.

 _An engagement ring_.

When Bucky came in, he found her laying on the floor, sobbing quietly, repeating Steve's name again and again. He cradled her in his arms, touched her hair and whispered word of reassurance into her ear. She eased up a bit and suddenly felt safe. Warmth spread through her as she stopped sobbing. She had someone who could help her through her grief. Bucky, Steve's best friend.

But even that did not last too long. When she heard Bucky enlisted with the military, she wasn't surprised. He came from a long line of soldiers – his grandfather, a World War II and Korea veteran, his father, a Bronze Star recipient from Vietnam and his older brother, a Gulf War veteran. She thought of it as natural progression and maybe even a chance of closure on Steve from his side. Bucky and Peggy stayed as close friends throughout those years, helping each other out, forming a strong bond.

But fate again had to take something from Peggy Carter.

It was an April evening. She got invited to dinner at Bucky's home as his brother had his birthday. Bucky himself was in Iraq, serving his first tour. While his mother was a bit scared for him, the men were confident that he would come back unharmed. He was Bucky, after all. Peggy herself got sent a few letters from Bucky and reading them always cheered her up.

She remembered as they were eating the doorbell rang. She offered to open and ran up to the door. When she swung it open, she knew something was wrong.

In front of her stood a man and a woman. Both in dress Army uniforms, the man holding an envelope in his hand.

Even before any of them spoke, she knew. She let them in, and then retreated to the bathroom, shocked and terrified.

She only heard snippets of the talk.

 _Operation Vigilant Resolve_

 _Fallujah_

 _Staff Sergeant James Barnes_

 _Killed in Action_

 _Condolences_

Then silence. The brother urging the messengers to leave, ushering them to the door. The door being shut. And then a woman's scream.

Peggy usually didn't turn her tail and run when things got tough. But this was too much. She quickly excused herself from the dinner and ran back to her flat. She felt numb. Empty on the inside. Angry. Guilty.

She wanted vengeance. Or maybe she had a death wish? A need to show she is capable of sacrifice? Throughout her military career, she asked herself that question many times, and never came up with a good answer. The two tours she did in Iraq didn't help her answer that question either. The war hardened her, built a granite shell around her, the armor to protect her from pain and hardship. That's at least how she thought about it. Was it the truth?

 _Who knows_ , she thought to herself at the time.

Entering the police force after Iraq seemed logical. She had the experience and wanted to prove herself further. To show others she had risen from the ashes.

She still had the ring Steve bought for her.

On the evening after her graduation ceremony at the Academy, she went to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was cold and windy, but she was determined. She took it out of her pocket and looked at it for the last time. She felt tears flowing down her cheeks as she threw it into the Hudson.

 _Goodbye, my darling._ she thought, sad and yet relieved at the same time. It was time to move on into a new life.

And now she was sitting in her apartment, thinking about Angie. She didn't know what, but there was something about that girl that was so captivating. Maybe the smile. Maybe the upbeat and happy aura she projected onto everyone, even the biggest of jerk customers. Or maybe just the whole package. As she emptied the beer bottle, Peggy caught herself smiling. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled when thinking about a person.

"Well" she said to herself, feeling warm inside "It seems like the L&L just got a new regular customer".


	3. Chapter 3

Usually, Angie was very good at guessing the character of a person.

 _Usually._

Since the day they first met, Angie knew Peggy Carter, or "English"as she liked to call her, was going to be a tough nut to crack in that department. The hurdle wasn't the fact she was a police officer – the fact that the L&L was so close to the precinct meant that Angie had to deal with a lot of cops on a daily basis.

No, it was the fact that Peggy was _not_ your average police officer. She was simply something else. Something that couldn't even be properly defined.

And that is what made her visits to L&L so much more fun. While not always made possible – Peggy worked at a very unorthodox schedule that made it very hard to adjust her shifts to – the small meetings they held every time she entered the cafe always made her heart beat a little bit faster. Soon she simply could not wait for another encounter. It was then that she could simply open up and talk to the English woman about her auditions, work woes or just overall gossip. Regardless of what she talked about, Peggy was always eager to listen, sometimes chiming in with her own stories. For a police officer, they were quite mundane for Angie's liking – mainly about writing endless reports and writing parking tickets – but she didn't really care. As long as Peggy was there, she was content.

For Peggy, the conversations with Angie were usually the highlights of the day. She was amazed at how much energy can one have in their body, as Angie always seemed as if she had drunk a bit too much Red Bull, regardless of time. Peggy was slowly taking a liking to the waitress/future Broadway star.

Which made lying to her about work even more painful. What was worse, she _really_ had no reason to lie at all. She tried to make up excuses for it – that Angie would not believe her, that the knowledge would somehow endanger her. After some deliberation, Peggy decided to set the record straight in the future. For now, she limited talking about her work to a bare minimum, instead focusing on listening to what Angie had to say and offering advice, comfort or laughs, depending on the situation. It made her happy – something she hadn't felt for a long time. The warm feeling she felt for the first time always returned like a boomerang whenever she saw Angie.

Was she in love? She didn't know.

 _I guess I'll find out sooner or later_ , she murmured to herself one night before falling asleep.

"Alright squad, listen up"

Dooley's voice seemed even more powerful than it usually was, amplified by the walls of his office. It was dark, as the projector had been switched on for the briefing. Dooley pressed the button on the mouse, making a photo appear on the screen. On it were the front and a profile picture from a mugshot of a Hispanic-looking male. His face looked sort of like a potato, with a nose deformed after one too many fistfights, a knife scar on his left cheek and a small stubble under his nose.

"This is Emilio Hernandez." Dooley continued "According to the DEA he's been involved in meth trade on the East Coast. They also think he has connections with Dominican gangs in the area. Right now he's sort of hot on his heels, however, not only because he has a warrant on his head."

"And why is that?" Sousa asked, stroking his chin.

"Yesterday the DEA busted a meth lab of his outside town. He was actually there and bailed. Just an hour ago, a patrol in an unmarked car sighted him entering a house on Staten Island. They've been surveying and he hasn't moved from there. We think it's his safe house. It's our chance to grab him."

"And why don't the Feds do that? They let him slip in the first place." Thompson spoke up, a bit annoyed.

"Sergeant Thompson, were you speaking something? Or was it just my imagination?" Dooley retorted, anger visible on his face and palpable in his voice.

Thompson didn't respond, blankly staring at the conference table.

"No, sir." he mumbled under his breath.

"Good. Lieutenant Carter, you and the team are to be up in 10 minutes, our time window is small and closing here." Dooley said, turning her attention to Peggy.

"Yes, sir." Peggy answered "Move the lot of you, we don't have time for chit-chat." she exclaimed, prompting the men to stand up and quickly dart to the locker room. In it, they quickly donned their Kevlar vests, helmets, goggles, elbow and knee pads before moving at a brisk pace to the armored van, where they kept their weapons. With Dugan behind the wheel, they set off, with the exact address being relayed by the dispatch.

Soon, they were on site. The hideout of the criminal turned out to be a middle – sized, two-story house with a garage, painted in brick red. They quickly exited the van and formed up in a semi-circle around Peggy.

"The plan is simple – we move in together, fast and in force. Simple snatch and grab. I lead the way, Thompson, you close the formation. He's possibly armed and dangerous, so safeties off. Good? Let's move." Peggy said, nearly in one breath and with a tone filled with confidence.

The team quickly moved out from behind the van. Peggy was leading the ensemble, with Barton covering her left and Dugan covering her right. Sousa stayed behind Peggy, but in front of Thompson, who closed the column. They moved at a steady pace, observing the surroundings, checking for movement. Soon, they were at the door. Peggy took the spot to the right, while Barton moved to the left side.

"Breach, flash and clear" she said, almost in a monotone voice. "Dugan, Sousa, clear the upper floor when we move in."

Without a word, Clint grabbed the small explosive charge from his utility belt. He armed it and stickied it over the lock, producing the detonator with his second hand. Peggy glanced at Dugan, who was already holding a flashbang in his hand. She gave them a nod. Barton counted down to three and then pressed the detonator.

The explosive detonated, forcing the door open. Peggy turned her head away, but still heard the sound of the grenade bouncing off the door frame into the house. She heard it go off and then saw Barton move in, shouting.

"NYPD, give yourself up!"

She moved in right behind him, checking the left. She quickly glanced behind her and saw the rest enter the house. Suddenly, she heard a noise to the right, coming from the living room. She turned and saw Hernandez, with a revolver in his hand

"Police, drop your weapon and hit the floor!" Barton shouted, aiming his M4 into the room.

"Fuck you, _hijo de puta_!" Peggy heard in response and saw Hernandez aim the gun at Barton. The police officers were faster, however.

They both pulled the triggers on their guns simultaneously. Barton set his rifle to single-fire, while Peggy had her MP-5 in burst mode. She saw her burst hit Hernandez in the chest and abdomen, while Barton's shot hit him in the neck. He quickly lost balance and fell backwards, smashing the glass coffee table into small pieces. Peggy then saw him gripping his throat, wheezing loudly, blood shooting through his fingers. She moved to him, kicking the gun from his reach. There was nothing she could do to save him – she looked at him spasm a few times before he stopped moving.

"This is Dugan, top floor clear, over." she heard on the radio.

"The back is clear too." Thompson added.

"All clear!" she exclaimed, still feeling the adrenaline flowing through her. She quickly grabbed the send button and pressed it.

"Entry Team to TOC. Suspect killed, all clear. Out."

"Roger that. Out."

The team rejoined in the living room. They all looked at the lifeless body lying in a pool of blood and glass shards. After a while they all exited through the front door, in silence. On the way back, Dooley asked why they fired. After he heard the description of what happened, he nodded in understanding. After the return, they left the gear in the locker room and went back with the Captain to the office. There, he only said

"Dismissed. Enough for today."

Soon, Peggy found herself on the street, walking at a steady pace towards the cafe. She was calm, although the memories from the day still lingered in her head. She had killed and seen people being killed before, but it was never an easy thing to cope with, regardless of how many times she saw death. That's why the prospect of another talk with Angie lightened her mood up a bit.

When she entered the establishment, it was empty. Closing time was coming soon and Peggy saw Angie already wiping the floor. When their eyes met, she could see a smile taking shape on Angie's face, as she quickly darted to meet her.

"Hiya, English!" she exclaimed "The usual?"

"Just the coffee, please", she answered, her voice sounding a bit throaty.

"OK, wait a sec." said Angie, quickly grabbing a pot and a mug and turning back to Peggy. When she filled her cup, she left the pot at the bar and sat down opposite of the English woman.

"So, how was your day?" Angie asked, curious "Mine wasn't that terrible, tips were OK, not too many jerks. Can't complain, really."

"Angie..." Peggy said, looking her right in the eyes. _Those beautiful, blue eyes_. "... I might have been economical with the truth with you."

The waitress tilted her head, frowning.

"Go on." she said, in a neutral tone.

"When we first met, I said that I was a desk jockey at work. Then I kept saying how I only do menial stuff and all that crap. But it wasn't true. And after today I felt I couldn't lie to you anymore..." Peggy said, still keeping eye contact, but with her voice coming out weaker and weaker "... I'm not the person you have me for. "

Angie didn't say a word. Her face was focused, but Peggy couldn't see any anger.

"I'm in a SWAT team. And I saw a man die today. Granted, he was aiming a gun at my squad mate and was a wanker, but still." Peggy finished, tensing up, awaiting for the response.

Angie kept quiet for a moment. Peggy could see she was analyzing what she just said and worked on a response. Then, she retorted, calmly and straight to the point.

"And why didn't you tell me when we first met? It's not like I'd have ratted you out to the mob."

"To be frank, I have no idea." Peggy answered, with a sigh, looking at the table. "I just can't explain it."

Then she felt Angie's touching her shoulder.

"English, look at me"

She looked up to meet Angie's gaze She felt it penetrate to even the deepest parts of her body.

"Whatever the reason, just promise me one thing. I want you to always be sincere with me, just as I have been sincere with you."

"Promise" Peggy answered, letting out a sigh of relief. "And I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be." Angie said, smiling reasurredly "Besides, no one I know has a friend in the NYPD SWAT. I guess I now have some bragging rights."

Peggy chuckled in response.

"Bragging rights granted. Now, I think you need to close shop, and I'm a bit tired, so I'll head home. I'll text you when I get back, OK?"

"No problem, English." Angie answered, with a wide grin. "See you next time."


	4. Chapter 4

Something was off.

Just yesterday Angie texted Peggy the good news. She finally got a part in a play – it wasn't Broadway and it wasn't a lead role, but it was a part nonetheless. The news filled Peggy with joy – Angie was finally getting her chance. The chance she had always deserved. Going to bed the previous night, Peggy felt pride fill her to the brim. When she woke up in the morning, she couldn't wait to see Angie and talk to her about it. Even though the shift at the precinct was mainly filled with paperwork and was in all honesty as boring as it could be, Peggy soldiered on, kept up by the upcoming meeting.

Right after entering the cafe, Peggy knew that something bad must have happened. On first glance, it looked perfectly normal – Angie seemed happy and upbeat as usual. However, on closer inspection, little hints told Peggy that it was only a mask. The smile seemed forced, her posture was weaker than usual and clumsy movements indicated that Angie was far more tired than usual. Plus, to Peggy's own surprise, Angie _smelled_ differently. At first Peggy scolded herself in her mind for even thinking like that, but her instinct kicked in. As Angie passed her, she whiffed a little bit more strongly and what she felt immediately confirmed her suspicions. Under the layer of perfume, she felt it all – a smell of an unwashed body, nicotine, ash, alcohol and slight hints of vomit. She wanted to just lead Angie out to the back alley and make her spill everything, but then realized it would be a very bad move. So Peggy decided to wait patiently until closing time came.

When the final customer aside from Peggy left the establishment, Angie sighed loudly. She took a water bottle from the back room and took a large gulp. After that, she turned to Peggy.

"Time's up, English, we're closing." she said, with a tired voice.

The English woman looked at her. She spoke, trying to sound as neutral as she could.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened to you last night."

"It has nothing to do with you." she retorted, dismissively.

"That's not the point" Peggy answered, in a tone that she usually reserved for combat situations – calm, but with force behind it. "I've been observing you all the time since I came here today. Something bad happened between you sending me that text yesterday and today. And I won't leave until you tell me the truth. Remember our deal?"

She kept looking at Angie. But the younger woman kept her head down, looking at her feet. Suddenly, Peggy heard a sob. She looked closer and saw tears flowing down the cheeks and falling to the floor. Angie's body also started fidgeting slightly as sadness overwhelmed her.

"Oh God, Angie" Peggy said, with fear in her voice. She quickly rose up from her cushion, grabbing a napkin. She raced up to Angie and hugged her, placing her hands on Angie's shoulders, The waitress then placed her head on Peggy's shoulder, sobbing into her as Peggy ran her hand into Angie's hair.

They stood there for a moment until Angie stopped sobbing and raised her head to meet Peggy's eyes. Peggy quickly used the napkin to dry the tears and wipe their traces on the cheeks. After that, Angie spoke, her voice filled with sadness.

"I got kicked out of my apartment and I have nowhere to go."

 _Oh boy. That's not what I was expecting_. thought Peggy.

After Angie had calmed down and returned with Peggy to the booth, she told her the whole story. At first she described the place where she lived – the Griffith. Cheap rent and nice rooms, but rules so strict you could say it was a convent. Then she came back to yesterday. How happy she was when she got the part. How she thought it would be a good idea to celebrate with some drinks she stashed away in her apartment. After that she admitted to basically blacking out from _vodka overdose_ , as she called it. The next thing she remembered was laying down on the corridor floor in a pool of vomit dressed only in her underwear. With the administrator, Ms. Fry, looking at her with a gaze that would kill if it could. After that, there were only snippets – eviction, hangover headache, the realization she didn't have anywhere to go, and the whole miserable shift today at the L&L.

As she ended her story, Peggy had already made the decision.

"Angie" she said to her, in a friendly tone "Do you have your things here?"

"Yes, in the back room." she answered, still sad.

"Go grab them. You're coming with me."

"English, it's really generous of you, but..."

Peggy quickly placed a finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Shush, darling." she answered, with a slight sweetness in her voice. "I can't have you living on the street. And I'd much rather slice my wrists than see you suffer because you made a little mistake."

"I wouldn't say what happened to me was a little mistake, English." Angie fired back quickly.

"Depends on the perspective, I guess." Peggy retorted, with a little smirk. "Now close up, no time to waste."

Just a few moments later they both reached Peggy's apartment. Angie immediately got sent to the shower, as Peggy prepared coffee for Angie and tea for herself in the kitchen. Soon, Angie reemerged from the bathroom – clean, her work uniform gone, substituted by a clean T-shirt and sweatpants. Both women sat down in the kitchen, silently drinking from their mugs. It was Angie who broke the silence.

"Jeez English, I think my debt to you is eternal now."

"Don't even think about it" Peggy answered "You are a friend in trouble, not helping you would be a fairly dick move, if I say so myself."

Angie snorted into the coffee.

"Language, Officer!"

"Oh stop it you, I'm after hours." Peggy answered, snorting herself.

 _How can a person be so cute?_ Peggy thought.

Angie's laugh suddenly got interrupted by a fairly loud yawn.

"Oh Jesus, I'm so tired I think I will sleep for a day." she said.

"If I had an _adventure_ like you I'd be sleepy too." Peggy answered, smirking. "The couch is fairly comfortable, I checked it myself a few times. I'll give you a blanket and a nice pillow and you will be asleep in no time."

"Thanks, English" she said, grinning "I don't even know how to thank you."

"A nice home-made dinner would be nice, since my cooking attempts can be described as ambitious, but rubbish." Peggy said, still smirking.

Angie snorted again, breaking into a laugh.

"Oh God, English, you will be the death of me, I swear. You're too cute to live." she said "No problem, how about tomorrow? You've struck gold though, cooking is my favorite past time, right after acting."

"Sounds nice. I always loved Italian" Peggy answered, truthfully.

"Deal" Angie retorted, smiling. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a due date with a guy called Morpheus."

"Don't go to sleep just yet." Peggy answered, observing how Angie moved towards the couch in the living room. Peggy rose quickly and went to her bedroom, soon emerging with a pillow in one hand and a blanket in the other. As she entered the room, Angie was already sprawled on the couch with her eyes closed. Peggy slowly lifted her head, putting the pillow down. Afterwards, she covered Angie with a blanket and suddenly got carried away by emotions, or so she would later explain.

She kissed Angie on the forehead and bid her goodnight.

Then, she retreated to her bedroom, feeling the heat under her skin and a blush spreading on her cheeks. As she fell asleep, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

 _Bloody Nora, Peg, you're in love._

"You bet your arse I am." she murmured to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

The alarm clock sprung to life precisely at 6:30 AM. Peggy turned it off, her eyes half-open and a yawn spreading her lips wide. She laid in her bed for a minute, adjusting a bit before springing out and making her way to the bathroom. The shower quickly took care of the majority of her tiredness. She stayed in the bathroom for a while, drying her hair and applying some light make-up. Afterwards she moved towards the kitchen, where she quickly put the two bread slices into the toaster and put the kettle on to prepare the tea. She glanced towards the living room, where she saw Angie, still asleep on the couch. The view made her stomach flutter a bit and put a smile on her face – Angie was safe and she also could sleep a bit longer, since she didn't have to work today. The breakfast was fast and Peggy soon found herself on the way to the police station.

Inside, she found she was the first one to arrive from her team, and even before the Captain. She quickly sat at her desk and began working on an after-action report from the Hernandez affair – it was mostly done, just needed some review and polish here and there. After a few minutes, she saw her colleagues walk in. They exchanged quick "hello's" and nods as they also sunk into the paperwork routine.

Their work got interrupted soon, however. The doors to the common office swung open, as the Captain walked in at a fast pace. Behind him entered two other officers, in plain clothes – a raven-haired, tall woman and an African-American bald male. Dooley quickly gestured at everyone to follow him to the conference room. As they sat down, Captain made the introductions.

"These are Detectives Maria Hill and Samuel Wilson from the Homicide division. They are here because they will need our backup. So listen carefully. Understood?"

Peggy and the others nodded in acceptance. It wasn't often that Homicide asked for help. If that happened, it usually meant business. Dooley excused himself from the room and left.

"Firstly," Detective Hill began, clearing her throat "is everyone up to date on the Piano Wire Strangler case?"

Peggy nodded. The Piano Wire Strangler murders were fairly common knowledge on the station. It all began 4 months ago, when a hobo found a naked body of a young female student that went missing a week earlier in a garbage container just two blocks from the precinct. She had her hands and ankles tied with duct tape, and a purple mark on her neck. The autopsy confirmed she was strangled, the weapon most likely a piano wire. Other marks pointed to the fact that she was probably kidnapped and tortured before being dumped. Hill and Wilson investigated the case and hit a dead end. Soon, however, more bodies started cropping up. The MO became clear soon – the victims were all young, blonde females. They were usually kidnapped at evening or night, kept somewhere and tortured until being strangled and dumped. Up until today, 5 bodies were found matching the MO, including the original one.

"We're coming here, because we have solid proof linking a suspect to at least 3 of the victims." Wilson continued "This is the guy." he said, handing out copies of a photograph.

Peggy looked closely at the photo. She hadn't seen the face before, so she studied it closely before putting the piece of paper down on the table.

"His name is Brock Rumlow." Hill took over "Ex-CIA, most of the stuff he did is classified. Left the Agency a year ago, settled in New York, now works as a security chief in a skyscraper in Manhattan."

"How do we know he's the guy?" Peggy asked, her tone inquisitive.

"His DNA was found on two victims, we got a fingerprint match from the tape on victim number 3 and..." she stopped speaking for a second.

"And what?" Sousa asked, his tome impatient.

Hill nodded to Wilson. The male detective moved over to the laptop and played the prepared video.

It was a security camera footage from yesterday evening. Peggy studied it closely, when she saw a blonde girl walking on the sidewalk. Suddenly, a black SUV pulled over right next to her. She was able to discern it was a Range Rover, not the newest model but still looking fairly crisp. Suddenly, the driver door opened and the man from the photo ran towards the girl. She stood still, probably frozen in fear. The assailant then thwacked her in the head with what looked like a baton, causing the woman to fall to the ground. He quickly picked up the lifeless body and threw it onto the back seat. Just a few seconds later he drove off.

Peggy kept her face straight, but deep down she felt disgusted and angry. At that instant she simply wanted to kill the bastard.

"The girl you saw was Marie Mitchell. Senior year high school student." Wilson said "Her parents reported her missing just an hour ago."

"Now, we put Rumlow under surveillance a week ago. We've had no reports of him coming home yesterday." Hill continued "However, we found out just 30 minutes ago he has a small cabin one hour of driving distance from his house. This is where we think he took her."

"Good." Peggy said, taking charge. "Team, mount up, we leave ASAP. Detectives, you're coming with us. You know the address and the guy's profile."

Both Hill and Wilson soon followed the team to the locker room. When Peggy and the rest donned the tactical gear, the detectives settled for bulletproof vests hidden under their shirts. Soon, the expanded team hit the road.

* * *

They reached the secluded cabin 45 minutes later, with a small escort of two police cruisers. The cars were left at the side of the road, while the team and both detectives moved up on a dirt road. A small mist seeped between the trees, as a chilly wind blew calmly. Soon, they arrived at the building. It was small and slightly rundown, with paint chipping from the walls and dirty windows. In front of the cabin stood a black Range Rover.

 _We've got you, arsehole._ Peggy thought.

"Barton, Thompson, Dugan, cut off the escape routes. Hill, Wilson and Sousa, you're with me."

The team split up as ordered. Sousa and Peggy were the first to the door, moving slowly as to not alert Rumlow. Both Homicide detectives stood a bit back, but still within reasonable distance. Peggy put her ear to the door. At first, there was silence. But then she heard a faint whimper. Then, something she wasn't expecting – water hitting the floor boards.

She quickly pulled her head back and gestured to Sousa to blow the door. She pulled the flashbang from her utility belt and prepared herself, tensing up. Both detectives saw what was happening and raised their pistols, awaiting for what was to come.

Sousa quickly placed the explosive on the door, counted to three on his fingers and pressed the detonator button. The explosion ripped the door in two. Peggy quickly threw the live grenade inside. After it exploded, all four officers went in.

Rumlow was standing in the living room, just opposite of the door. He was staggering and soon tripped over a stool, falling to the ground with a loud thud. Sousa and Wilson both sprinted quickly towards him, trying to cuff him. He was resisting heavily, though, and after a few seconds he was still trying to wrestle away. Peggy thought quickly – she pulled a taser from her thigh holster and fired it at Rumlow. He tensed up as she held the trigger, sending electric shocks through his body and soon the killer stopped moving, allowing both men to cuff him and start carrying him to the door. As he was being pulled away, Hill and Peggy peeked into the room.

What the women saw instantly made them feel sick. The kidnapped student was tied with ropes to a chair laying on the floor. Her head was placed in a vice, and a wet cloth was spread through her face. Next to her was a bucket, half filled with water, standing in a puddle that covered the wooden floor.

The women quickly composed themselves and started freeing the student from her bounds. She was conscious, although her body was limp. Peggy took her gently into her hands and carried her out of the cabin. Outside, the EMTs took the victim from her, placing the teenager on a stretcher. Peggy looked to the side, seeing Rumlow being placed in the back of a police cruiser, his hands behind his back. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was a good job, Lieutenant." she heard Hill speak to her "Thank you for the help."

"You're welcome." she answered, her voice unusually tired. She then heard her radio.

"Carter, go back to the station. Job well done." Captain's voice was formal, but with hints of pride.

"Roger that, sir." Peggy retorted.

 _Just another day at the office._

* * *

The rest of the shift seemed drag on eternally. Peggy and the team received congratulations, only to be swamped with more paperwork. When it was finally time, Peggy quickly darted outside to catch some much needed fresh air. She checked her phone, and saw that Angie tried to call her earlier. She quickly pressed the button to establish contact. Angie picked up just after two pings.

"Hey there, English." the sound of her voice made Peggy's boredom fly away in an instant.

"Hi, Angie. How's the dinner coming along?" she answered, feeling her stomach grumble in response.

"Finishing touches, my lady." Angie retorted, putting on a fake posh accent. Peggy could imagine her smirk.

"I'll be back in 15 minutes. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse, so it better be good." she said, smiling.

"You bet it. See ya." Angie answered, ending the call.

* * *

Peggy's smile widened even more. This was going to be a fun evening.

As soon as Peggy entered the house, a smell of delicious Bolognese sauce filled her nose up to the brim. She closed the door, slipped her shoes off, hanged her jacket on the hook and wandered into the kitchen. Angie was already sitting by the table, food piled onto the plates and wine in two glasses. Peggy sat down quickly herself.

"Wow, Angie, that looks great." she said, devouring the food with her eyes.

"Thanks, English. Had a lot of fun doing that, but let's start with the wine, OK?"

"Of course." Peggy grabbed the glass and clinked it with Angie's, taking a sip. Then, she moved on to the food. They both ate in silence, completely focused on the plates. When they finished, Peggy slumped back, taking a big swig from the glass.

"Oh God, Angie, that was... something else."

"Glad you liked it." Angie answered, with a wide grin on her face "Will you help me clean up or would you rather doze off?"

"I can help." Peggy answered. She thought it would be rude to make Angie do the housework for her. Soon, the wine glasses were drying near the sink while the plates ended up in the dishwasher. Both women headed to the living room, slumping on the couch in front of the TV.

"Fancy a film or a show?" Peggy asked.

"I watched the first new episode of _House of Cards_ while you were gone, but I can re-watch if you want to." Angie answered, putting her head on Peggy's shoulder.

"Seems fair." Peggy answered, navigating the TV's menu to reach the Netflix app. "You don't seem like a _House of Cards_ fan though." she said, smirking.

"I like it. The crush I have on Robin Wright since I watched _Forrest Gump_ helps too." Angie said, smirking slightly.

"Makes sense." Peggy retorted, clicking the button on the remote to start the first episode. As the first notes of the theme song started, Peggy felt Angie cuddle up to her more. The Englishwoman quickly moved her hand behind her back and grabbed Angie's waist.

 _Perfection._ Peggy thought to herself as the title sequence ended and the proper episode started.


	6. Chapter 6

Peggy jolted upwards, suddenly awake.

She quickly looked around. It took her a while to discern the shapes and get used to the darkness, but soon she felt relieved to see she was in her bedroom.

She glanced at the alarm clock.

 _3:35 AM_

Soon it dawned on her. She probably had a nightmare, but she couldn't even remember what it was about. She relaxed a bit before hearing rain hitting the window. Instantly she remembered what she was dreaming about.

It wasn't so much a nightmare as just a memory. The second half of her first tour in Iraq, the unit she served in was tasked with a patrol on the outskirts of Baghdad. Just after two hours from leaving the firebase, the lead Humvee hit an IED. Fortunately for her, Peggy was sitting in the third one in the column, but that didn't spare her from seeing the vehicle getting ripped apart by the explosion.

Right after the blast, they found themselves under fire from the insurgents. AK rifles, PKM machine guns, RPG-7s and some ex-Soviet 23 mm AA guns – they really were not taking any prisoners. Her unit returned fire, suppressing the enemy, but Peggy soon found herself pinned down in a ditch, bullets whizzing over her head as she fired her rifle blindly over the measly cover the ditch provided.

That in itself was not the worst – it was what happened just a moment later.

Next to her was Private King – one of the soldiers from her Humvee. She saw him peek his head out from the ditch, but even before she could react he suddenly slumped to the side and rolled down. Peggy looked at him and gasped – he was dead, a pool of blood forming around his head.

She froze. She wanted to do something, help, fire her gun, run. But her body did not respond at all. It was only after another soldier slapped her hard in her face did she regain control. Then, however the tide was turning.

She first heard a low rumble growing louder and louder over the gunfire. Soon, it was followed by a rhythmic sound – "BLAP BLAP BLAP BLAP...". She turned her head and saw it – backup, in form of a M2 Bradley IFV, cresting the ridge behind her, unloading at the enemy with its 25 mm cannon. Then another sound – a roar of a jet engine growing louder, followed by a series of explosions ripping apart the enemy lines. After that, a loud, ominous sound.

 _BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT._

The cavalry.

* * *

Peggy reminisced a bit more, sitting on her bed in the pitch black bedroom, and suddenly felt a force tightening around her waist. It startled her a bit, before she looked down.

 _Angie_.

Suddenly, Peggy felt a wave of heat spread through her body. She was sure she was starting to blush. She laid back on the pillow and soon realized what must have happened.

 _I must have been screaming in my sleep and she wanted to comfort me without waking me up. s_ he thought, smiling and sighing at the same time..

The grip of Angie's arm loosened a bit. Peggy soon felt relief wash through her, as her heartbeats became more regular. She moved her arm under Angie's waist and nudged her closer, feeling safer than ever. Soon, she was asleep again.

* * *

When the alarm sounded, Peggy silenced it as fast as she could. She knew Angie was doing the afternoon shift today and waking her up at 6:30 in the morning would be unnecessary. Slowly and carefully, Peggy left the bed and proceeded with her morning routine. As she put on her jacket, she peeked into her bedroom and saw, with relief, that Angie was still asleep. A smile crept up on her face as she left the apartment, heading for the precinct.

* * *

In the station, at first everything seemed routine. The officers were sitting by their desks, mingling with the paperwork. Peggy was starting to settle in for another boring shift. Suddenly, however, Dooley burst out of his office, turning his head to meet with Peggy's sight.

"Carter, get the team ready. We have a situation."

"What type of a situation?" Peggy asked, her tone crisp.

"I'll brief you on the way. Move!" the Captain answered, with a sense of urgency.

It was enough to get the whole team racing to the locker room and then the parking lot. In the van, Dooley, as promised earlier, explained the situation.

For Peggy, it sounded like something ripped straight from an action movie. A bank robbery gone sour, a frantic escape through the streets (punctuated with gunshots), ending in a hostage situation in a convenience store. Two confirmed suspects, veteran criminals, armed to the teeth and extremely dangerous. Peggy felt a slight tingle in her spine, but she knew she had to act. Otherwise, more innocent people would get hurt. And she would not stand for that.

Soon, the team assembled in the alley next to the store. This time, they were not going in alone. A second team was ready fro a full frontal assault, in sync with the entry from the back. Peggy felt adrenaline in her veins when they approach the service door. Thompson immediately jumped to the other side of the door, as the rest formed a line behind Peggy. She nodded at him and he checked the lock.

"Unlocked. Ready when you are."

Peggy nodded in response. Thompson pressed the handle and slowly pushed, peeking inside. After a moment, he moved in, Peggy and the rest following in his footsteps. They stopped before the door leading to the main hall. They could hear the robbers screaming, threatening to kill if anyone was to move. The English woman reached fro her radio.

"Team 1 this is Team 2, we're in position. Awaiting on your mark."

While speaking, she saw Dugan ans Sousa move towards the door.

"This is Team 1, Breach in..."

Peggy held her breath. _This is it._ she thought.

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

"BREACH!"

Peggy heard the glass shatter and three explosions, one after another. Right after the third one, Dugan opened the door and Sousa went in, shouting loudly. Peggy followed right behind him, scanning the room. The first robber, with the M4, was stunned and soon tripped, knocking down one of the shelves. The second one, with the FAL, started to raise his weapon, pointing it at the officer wielding a riot shield who entered from the front. Seeing this, Peggy pulled the trigger. The burst hit him in the neck, above the bulletproof vest. He fell to his side, dead even before he hit the floor. Just then she saw Dugan tackle the other criminal, swiftly disarming him and knocking him down. While he is restraining him, the rest ushers the terrified hostages outside.

"This is Team 2 to TOC, all clear" Peggy says, her voice calm.

* * *

The rest of the shift flew by quickly. Soon, Peggy found herself at the L&L, drinking coffee and observing Angie work. It's a very _soothing_ experience, as she likes to say to herself. To watch the waitress move with grace and lightness, even when carrying 4 plates at the same time, is like watching a perfectly synchronized ballet. Enthralling and captivating, as well as satisfying. Soon, the diner emptied a bit, so Angie could finally sit down.

"Wow, my legs are killing me." she sighed with a hint of pain as she plopped down on the cushion opposite Peggy "And it seems like the asshole population increases daily."

"What happened?" Peggy asked, with a hint of worry

"Nothing big, just a lot of guys who think they are the kings of the world because someone brings their food to the table." Angie replied.

Peggy scoffed. "I know that feeling. Being over someone can turn you into a jerk in an instant."

"Own experience?" Angie asked, cracking a half-smile.

"Too much of it, actually" Peggy replieed, with a quiet sigh at the end.

Suddenly, she felt Angie's hand on her own.

"English, I... last night..." Angie started, but suddenly got flustered and stopped.

Peggy quickly took the initiative. She grabbed Angie's hand and slowly stroked the skin with her fingernail.

"Don't worry, darling. Spit it out. I won't bite." she said, her tone slightly elevated.

"It's just you woke me up... you were screaming and then I saw you turning around in the bed... and I couldn't look at it" Angie retorted, taking deep breaths and avoiding Peggy's gaze.

"Angie..." Peggy paused for a second "...thank you."

The waitress looked up. Peggy could see her surprise. She continued.

"Sometimes I have those dreams. They are rare now, but they do happen. It's just I've seen my fair share of evil of this world and it stays in your mind. I'm sorry that..."

She suddenly felt a finger touch her lips. She stopped speaking.

"It's okay, Peggy, I understand. Don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault." Angie said sternly.

"And I don't blame you for trying to comfort me" Peggy answered. "It was... touching to say the least." she finished, cracking a smile.

Angie smiled back. They sat in silence for a moment before Angie rose.

"All right, English, I have to get back to work. I left you something to eat in the fridge, you'll love it"

"Sure I will." Peggy answered, leaving the money on the table and standing up. "You said those rehearsals start tomorrow?"

"Yep, 8 AM sharp. So it's back from work, right onto the couch routine for me." Angie retorted, with a light chuckle.

"Break a leg! See you!" Peggy said, exiting the diner.

"Bye!" Angie said as the doors close.

 _It's good to have someone to have your back_. Peggy thought, blushing slightly, as she turned towards the apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

Peggy instinctively knew something big was about to happen.

When she arrived at the precinct in the morning, it was far more vibrant and noisy than usual. Under that exterior she could feel tension, as some officers conversed in lower tones and whispers. She then moved to the common office, at a slightly higher pace than she was usually using.

Her earlier suspicions were quickly confirmed when she stepped into the office. She reached her desk and even before she could lay her things down on it, Dooley's head peeked out of the conference room door.

"Carter, I expect you here in one minute"

"Will do, Captain" she responded, tidying up the desk.

Precisely a minute later, she knocked on the door. After hearing an invitation to join in, she pressed the handle and swung it open.

She looked at the opposite side of the oval table. Dooley was seated to the right. To the left she saw two men – both in uniforms, but certainly not in NYPD ones. She even pondered whether they were American at all. In the center, however, she spotted the most probable culprit of the commotion in the station.

Chief Phillips.

Peggy herself met Phillips only two times before – first time at the graduation ceremony and the second one when she was assigned leadership to her elite team. At the time, she jokingly thought that Phillips probably saw _The Elite Squad_ movie and decided to transplant the Brazilian idea to the NYPD. After some time, though, she thought of it as one of the best decisions she ever witnessed.

"Lieutenant Carter, please sit down." Phillips spoke firmly, pointing at the chair opposite him.

Peggy quickly obeyed and seated herself in the chair. She raised her head to maintain eye contact and met Chief's gaze. It was both friendly and inquisitive.

"Gentlemen" he said, turning his head to the guests on the left side"Before we go further" Phillips continued "I'd like you to introduce yourselves. Those surnames are giving me a headache. Would you please?".

"Of course." The man sitting closer to Phillips stood up. His hair was cut fairly short and his chin was clean shaven. Peggy could see that he was a bit jet lagged, and his slight accent confirmed her suspicions of a longer flight.

After hearing his introduction, Peggy silently agreed with Phillips. The officer ("Staff-subaltern", as he had said himself) had a fairly easy name, similar to "Martin", but his surname was a nightmare to pronounce – jotted with a stream of "sh" and "ch" consonants barely held together with a few stray vowels. She immediately knew these were Poles – she met quite a few of them in Iraq and the surnames were always a dead giveaway. That, and the constant use of the word sounding similar to "curva", as a question mark, exclamation point and a comma in the speech. Outside of that she noted he was from the Criminal Police Division in Warsaw.

The second Pole introduced himself right afterwards. Pavel Kowalski, from the Central Investigations Bureau, also from Warsaw. After he sat back down, Phillips took over.

"Our dear guests here have some interesting information they have shared with us recently about the Leviathan. Have you heard of them, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Chief, sir." Peggy answered. Digging through the information in her brain, Peggy quickly remembered everything. Leviathan was a smuggling ring based in Central and Easter Europe, specializing mainly in drug and weapon trafficking. Peggy herself took part in a few raids against Leviathan, but it seemed like they always sprung back to life after seemingly being defeated.

Peggy saw Phillips nod at the Polish officers.

"Two weeks ago," Kowalski spoke, his accent a bit more thick than the one of Martin, but still understandable "we successfully intercepted a shipment of weapons supposed to leave from Gdynia. We only had suspicions, but Leviathan seemed like a solid lead. We increased the surveillance of the suspected gang members. Our informant then told us that a drugs shipment was supposed to leave for New York from Warsaw last week."

"And it nearly did." Martin chimed in "Border Patrol snatched it at the airport. The drugs' chemical profile matched the one produced in the Leviathan labs."

Throughout that exposition, Peggy nodded. She knew that something big was supposed to happen, and that it probably wouldn't be too pretty.

"And just after that, we got lucky." Kowalski continued "One of the Leviathan lieutenants got busted at the German border with forged documents. We questioned him and he spilled."

"What exactly?" Peggy asked.

"There's a deal being made. Leviathan weapons for cocaine, here in New York." he said, with a slight smile "Tomorrow at 2 AM, in a warehouse in Queens."

Peggy kept her facial expression neutral, but inside she could feel the adrenaline slowly building up. If the intel was correct, a good bust would be a huge success.

"Lieutenant Carter, I expect your team to lead the way. You will have backup, of course." Phillips added.

"I'd be delighted, Chief." Peggy responded, with a slight smile.

"Good." the Chief answered. "Captain Dooley, Lieutenant Carter, I expect a full operation plan on my desk in the next 4 hours. Our guests here will help you. Understood?"

"Yes sir." both officers responded in unison.

"Good, now get to work."

* * *

After 3 hours and liters of coffee a plan was hatched. A pincer attack on the main hall of the warehouse, with entries from the roof and both sides. A big undertaking, but the stakes were too high to skimp on resources. Dooley would coordinate the assault from the mobile HQ while Peggy would lead the assault. In the end, she was content and grateful for the Polish help – the intel they gathered was very solid and both officers contributed a lot to the planning. After the plan was submitted, the rest of the team was briefed and full preparations began. During a short break Peggy managed to text Angie she would come late from work.

 _This should be enough_. She thought.

* * *

It was 1:30 AM. Everything was set to go. SWAT teams have hidden themselves around the warehouse, covered by snipers (including Barton) and a surveillance drone with thermal vision cameras. Peggy swore she could hear her blood circulate. The rest of the team were all focused, but she could see them sweating a bit. She sighed and checked her weapon again and then looked at her watch. The time moved at an agonizing pace. Suddenly, the calm was stopped by a radio crackle and a voice of the drone operator:

"This is Eagle, tracking three SUVs and a truck moving in a convoy towards the warehouse."

The announcement ripped Peggy out of the limbo she was in. She composed herself and quickly gestured for the team to move to the designated position. On the radio, she heard other teams confirming their moves. Soon, Peggy and the boys reached a ladder leading to a door near the ceiling. They started climbing it, when they heard Barton over the radio.

"This is Hawkeye, all cars in the warehouse."

Soon, the team reached the door. They hunkered down, awaiting for the second party to arrive. They didn't wait long – just a few minutes later, another report from the operator.

"One sedan and an SUV moving to the warehouse."

Soon, one of the snipers confirmed the deal starting.

Peggy prepared herself for what was to come. She had a feeling it wouldn't be easy – but then again, when was a mission they were called in ever easy?

She didn't have time to think about this, as Dooley's voice sounded.

"All teams, prepare to breach."

Peggy took a deep breath in.

"In 3, 2, 1, mark!"

She quickly sung the door open and charged onto the catwalk. The rest of the team followed her, forming a line. They heard shouting and explosions downstairs, probably from the flashbangs. Soon, however, it all turned ugly fast.

While some gangsters dropped their weapons, the others quickly composed themselves and fired back. Soon, a cacophony of gunfire filled the warehouse, when it filled with the _stacatto_ of assault rifles and submachine guns, thuds of shotguns and pangs of pistols. Peggy and the team had the height and surprise advantage and intended to use it to full effect.

She quickly swung the weapon over the railing, looking for targets. She saw one – a thug in a suit firing an AK at someone. She pulled the trigger twice and saw him fall to the side. She switched the target to another gangster, who was spraying his Uzi all over the place. Three bursts later he was propped against a wheel of the truck, his shirt riddled with bullet holes and soaked with blood. The gangsters soon realized they were fighting a losing battle and some of them simply dropped their guns to the floor and hunkered down behind crates and low walls. One of the last criminals still eager to fight then dashed from behind the sedan and started running towards the exit. Suddenly, it looked like he tripped and fell face first onto the concrete. A pool of blood forming under him answered all the questions at once.

Soon, the whole picture became clear. They managed to capture both the weapons and the drugs. While most of the gangsters were arrested, seven of them ended up dead and another three were taken to the hospital. Somehow, even though the fusillade was ferocious, only one police officer was wounded when a bullet hit him in the bulletproof vest, not penetrating it, but still having enough force to crack three ribs.

When Peggy reached her apartment an hour after the firefight ended, she suddenly felt as if she hadn't slept for a whole day. She whiffed her clothes for a moment and smelled sweat and gunpowder.

 _Fitting_. She thought, turning the key in the door. After leaving her shoes and the jacket near the entrance, she moved forwards. She peeked into the living room, but saw no trace of Angie. Feeling her heart pound a bit faster, she looked in the bedroom. The view calmed her instantly, as Angie was sleeping on the right side of the bed, covered in her blanket.

After a quick shower, Peggy walked back to the bedroom, as quietly as possible. She snuck into the bed and placed a hand on Angie's hip. The waitress muffled something in her sleep and fidgeted a little. Peggy closed a distance a bit, but the gap still allowed for no body contact. Sleep came to her in no time.


	8. Chapter 8

_Oh bloody hell._

The thought flew through Peggy's mind faster than she could react. Although, all things considered, it was a fitting one. The pulsing migraine made concentrating on anything difficult, if not outright impossible. The letters on the computer screen blurred into a jumbled mess, and voices of the people around the station might as well have been a constant white noise. It's not like Peggy had not experienced bad headaches before (hell, she got one for free alongside some temporary hearing loss in Iraq when a 1000 – pound bomb from an F-18 exploded far too close for comfort), but something about this particular one was excruciating.

Regardless, she tried concentrating again, trying to at least decipher the email she had been trying to read for the last 15 minutes. That try ended in failure pretty quickly, as Peggy lowered her head, placing her forehead on the desk and groaning into it quietly.

"Rough night, Carter?"

 _Of course it had to be Thompson. Jesus Christ._

Peggy did not respond. She thought about it for a second, but with the migraine killing both her sarcasm and the ability to formulate coherent sentences, she gave up. Suddenly, she heard footsteps closing in on her desk and a sound of a mug being placed. She reluctantly shifted her head to the right and saw Sousa, with a cup in his own hand. Alongside the mug there was a glass of water with two tablets dissolving in the liquid. Peggy shifted her head slightly again.

"Thanks, Daniel" she muttered, her voice weak and quiet.

"No problem, Lieutenant." he responded, his tone official. "Have you thought about calling it a day?"

"Not yet." she responded, weakly.

Sousa nodded and turned around returning to his desk. Peggy grabbed the glass and downed it in one go. She then took a small sip of the coffee. Of course it would not kill the pain outright, but at least it made her feel a little bit better.

Then, she heard the door to her right open. It was Dooley, and the look on his face was a mix of compassion and disappointment.

"Carter, no offense, but you look like shit." he said, matter-of-factly and straight to the point.

"It's nothing, just a migraine" she responded.

"It's big enough for me." He said, his voice stern. "Go home and get better. I can't have my best team leader sprawled on the desk with her head exploding."

"Of course, sir." She responded, slowly lifting herself from the chair. The world whirled around for a bit before finally having the decency to stabilize itself. After that, Peggy, grabbed her things and left the building, heading back to the flat. While a talk with Angie at the L&L was tempting, the sharp pain in her temple quickly made sure that thought dissipated as fast as it transpired.

When she finally entered the flat, she set the course for the bed. The whole Leviathan affair meant that her sleeping pattern became irregular at best and non-existent most of the time. She blamed this for the migraine as she woke up from her 2 – hour nap today, alongside coffee, noise and a whole parade of other, usually insignificant things. As she settled down on the bed with her head in a mountain of pillows and a hot tea on the nightstand, she could feel her muscles ease up. Her eyes fluttered shut and soon she was asleep.

* * *

Peggy didn't even know how long she napped. Opening her eyes, she noticed the sun peeking through the blinds in the bedroom window. She raised her eyebrow. When she came back, it was just after 2 PM and the sky was covered win thick, grey clouds. A look at the nightstand confirmed her suspicions – next to the mug of cold tea the clock was telling the hour.

9:34 AM

Peggy chuckled silently. The thought of having been asleep for so long amused her greatly. The sleep also seemed to have taken care of her migraine – the pain gone almost completely. Peggy sprang up from the bed, noticing that she was still wearing the clothes she came back in yesterday. This terrified her a bit, so she quickly made her way to the shower.

After what seemed to be an eternity, she got out of the bathroom, washed and in new clothes. She strolled to the kitchen, where she spotted a piece of paper on the table. She picked it up, instantly recognizing Angie's handwriting.

 _Got to go. Early shift and rehearsals later on. Breakfast in the fridge. Be back in the evening. Angie xxx_

As if on cue, Peggy felt her stomach growl and rumble loudly. After a while, she was sitting on the couch, stuffing her mouth full of prosciutto sandwiches Angie made for her while listening to some jazz coming out of her stereo. Soon, the sandwiches were gone, the plate back in the dishwasher and Peggy sat down in the armchair, with a Kindle in her hand.

 _I could get used to this_. She thought.

And then her thoughts trailed back to Angie. For a while now Peggy accepted the fact she was in love with the other woman. That in itself was not a problem (it was actually one of the best things about their relationship). The issue was, whether or not Angie harboured the same feelings for her. Nothing would break Peggy's heart more than losing Angie only because she didn't reciprocate her feelings. And while Peggy was an exceptional leader in the field, she was pretty rubbish at romance. For now, she decided to keep the feeling to herself. At the same time, she decided to probe Angie from time to time – not outright telling her but dropping little clues and then judging the reaction.

 _That should do for now._

* * *

It was around 8 PM when Angie came back. She left her things near the door and then quickly pounced towards the couch. When she finally sat down, she let out a long sigh.

"Tough one, huh?" Peggy asked.

"Unlike you, Sleeping Beauty, I didn't get to lie in a warm bed for a whole day." Angie fired back, smirking. Peggy felt a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"That's true, but, as you can see, I'm back on my feet." Peggy retorted. "How was it?"

"Fine. The shift was quiet and everyone at least tried to be nice. The rehearsals are going great, even though the director is quite the asshole." Angie answered. "I mean, we had to do a scene ten times before he said it was 'barely acceptable'."

"Very Kubrickish of him, isn't it?" Peggy said, smiling.

"Yeah, but unlike Kubrick, he's not a genius, that I know for sure. Unless geniuses are always born with a broomstick up their ass." That response made Peggy snort. "Anyways, any thoughts on what we do tonight? I'm too tired to even move my toe, so no going out."

"I don't have a plan, to be frank." Peggy answered.

"Well, because I actually have one." Angie retorted, with a devilish grin on her face. "I have a bottle of vodka, half an apple pie and some cupcakes. And the plan is to shove all of it down our throats and see who makes the mad dash to the toilet first."

Peggy raised her eyebrow, smirking.

"Sounds… interesting, to say the least."

"Come on English, as if you have anything better to do." Angie said, half-begging, half-laughing.

"I guess you do have a point, darling." Peggy answered, smiling fully.

 _It's so stupid and yet so great at the same time._

A few hours later, as Peggy dragged a passed out Angie back to the couch, while feeling fairly tipsy herself, she didn't even dare challenge that thought.


	9. Chapter 9

_Fuck._

For the last few seconds, this was the only word that was able to run through Peggy's mind. The cursory glance around didn't help. Sousa was laying on the floor near the low wall, his pant leg completely soaked with blood and ripped apart because of the shrapnel from the booby trap he tripped while storming inside the office. His screams of pain were muffled by gunfire whizzing over their heads, hitting the ceiling and the walls of the warehouse office suspended a good few meters above the floor. Barton and Dugan were returning fire, but because their firing technique had to be reduced to the school of "stick-your-gun-out-of-the-window-and-pull-the-trigger", the accuracy was far off. Thompson was right by Daniel, squeezing his hand and and trying to console him. Peggy wasn't surprised – Thomson and Sousa have known each other for long, having been together in the Force Recon Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq and later on joining the police force. Still, that small scene made her even more determined to get them out of the situation they were in. She reached for the radio.

"Where's the bloody backup?!" she yelled, protocol be damned,

"On it's way, just hold on a little longer there, Carter." Dooley responded, not minding Peggy breaking the radio protocol.

"Easy for you to say Captain. We're low on ammo, outnumbered and Officer Sousa is heavily wounded. We need help ASAP!"

"Roger. Out."

 _Damn it._ Peggy thought. She quickly peeked out the window and fired at one of the Leviathan thugs. The sight of him slumping down to the ground assured her the threat was dealt with. She ducked behind cover again, hearing bullets whiz over her head. She checked the ammo – she had just 2 magazines left for her MP5, and then she would be left with her sidearm. The odds were stacked against her and the team.

And then she heard more commotion downstairs. The gunfire grew louder for a few seconds and then died down. Then she heard a male voice, yelling loudly.

"CLEAR!"

Peggy breathed in a sigh of relief. Her mood whiplashed again, however, as she raced towards Sousa.

He was in a really bad shape. The blood pooled under the leg and Peggy could see small fragments of metal sticking out of the wounds. She looked directly in Daniel's eyes. They were filled with pain and regret.

"I...I...can't feel it..." he said, through the tears, wincing. „Oh God it hurts... fuck... _aaaaaah_ "

Peggy could feel her heart sink. She looked at Thompson, and he looked back. His eyes were empty and she recognized it immediately. The Thousand Yard Stare.

„Let's get him out of here before he bleeds out, Marge" Thompson said, his tone devoid of any feelings, monotone and low.

Peggy nodded and helped Thompson lift Sousa. Soon, they managed to get him downstairs, right into the hands of the EMTs. The medics immediately rushed him to the ambulance that soon took off, sirens blaring and tires screeching.

While the ambulance might have left the scene, the atmosphere still was thick. The team headed back to the van, their heads lowered, their movements slow and automatic. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the van. Dooley was there, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he sat behind the wheel and, after they all climbed in, drove off.

* * *

They reached the hospital where Sousa was fairly quickly. Leaving most of their equipment in the car, Peggy and the rest walked through the lobby to the reception desk.

"You are here for that officer with the leg?" Asked the nurse at the desk.

All of them nodded in unison.

"He's now in the OR, you can go wait on the 5th floor, that's where he will be dropped off when they are finished with him."

Soon, the team sat at the chairs in the waiting room. Silence blanketed them, as the only sound heard was their breaths. The silence lingered on for a few minutes, before Peggy broke it.

"I'm sorry" she said, covering her face with both hands. "It's my fault..."

"Marge..."

"Peggy..."

"It's my fault, I should have known better, I should have gone in first.."

She suddenly felt someone's hand on her back.

"Marge, stop it and look at me." Thompson said, sternly.

Peggy looked up, fighting back tears.

"It wasn't your fault. Risks like that are inherent to what we do. We all served and we have to cope with the fact that sometimes not everything goes as we planned it. The important thing is he's alive. And knowing him he will make it." His voice was filled with confidence and manage to calm Peggy, but only slightly.

"Peggy," Dugan started. „I have to agree with Thompson here. We are lucky he's still with us..."

Right as he said that, a doctor walked in.

"I assume you are all waiting for the news on Mr. Sousa."

"Yes, we do." Peggy said, her voice trembling slightly.

"He's been stabilized and put in a coma. He lost a lot of blood and..." he stopped talking

"And?" Thompson said, with a hint of fear.

"...the leg... had to be amputated below the knee. The damage was far too severe." he ended, drawing a deep sigh.

Peggy felt her brain shutting down. A storm of feelings crashed down on her, as she stared blankly at the doctor.

 _No, no. This is not possible. No._

* * *

Before she knew it, she was out of the hospital. The rest volunteered to stay, as they had clearly seen that in her state it would be best for Peggy to just go home. At first, she resisted, but after some convincing from all three of them she caved in. Throughout the journey back her mind was still blank, half-frozen from shock. Now, right before she was to enter her apartment, everything flooded back. She could already feel the tears swelling up in her eyes. As she entered the apartment, she lunged herself at the couch, sobbing loudly into the pillow, curling up into a fetal position as grief and sadness overwhelmed her. Just a few moments later she faintly heard the key turning in the lock. Then, she heard Angie enter.

"English, I'm back!" she said, her tone beaming with excitement. "We just finished our rehe..." she went silent abruptly.

"English?" she said, sounding heartbroken. The only answer to her question was a loud sob.

Angie quickly sprinted towards Peggy. The Italian woman embraced her and pulled her upright, letting Peggy's head slump against her shoulder. Angie cradled the crying woman, lightly massaging her shoulder. Soon, the sobs became quieter and quieter as silence blanketed the room.

"English, what happened?" Angie asked, her voice filled with worry.

„Work." Peggy answered, sighing loudly. „One of my squad mates lost his leg today."

Angie didn't answer. Instead, she tightened her grip around Peggy's waist. Suddenly, she felt the Englishwoman grip at her waist as well, pulling her closer. They sat in silence for another moment, before Peggy spoke.

"It was my fault, I..."

"English, no."

"But.."

"No buts. Did you saw his leg off? No? Then it's not your fault."

"Easy for you to say" Peggy said, her tone colder. „You weren't the one that told him to go into the room where a live grenade was primed."

"Maybe I wasn't." Angie retorted „However, how were you supposed to know it was there?"

"I should have..."

"Could have, should have, didn't" Angie cut Peggy off "20/20 Hindsight, all that. Peggy, you need to understand you cannot have control over everything. I understand you blame yourself for what happened, but there was really nothing you could have done. Yes, it is tragic that your friend lost his leg, but no amount of blaming yourself will make it grow back."

Angie moved her hand to Peggy's chin and moved her head to meet her gaze. She looked into her eyes, and saw a faint glimmer of comfort.

"Angie." said Peggy, her voice low „Thank you."

"That's why I'm here, Pegs." she answered.

"I couldn't be less happy about that, actually." Peggy retorted.

Angie kept looking Peggy straight in the eyes, as if she was hypnotized. Seeing Peggy finally snap back from her sadness washed her over with relief. Suddenly, before she even had a chance to think about what she was about to do, she closed the distance, pecking a light kiss onto Peggy's lips. The Englishwoman recoiled back in surprise.

"Oh God, Peggy, I'm so sorry..." Angie began to explain herself, but quickly found herself shushed by a finger at her lips. She looked at Peggy and saw a faint smirk on her lips.

"Angela Martinelli" she spoke, her tone official. "If you do not repeat what you just did, consider me a woman scorned."

Angie, not willing to be the subject of an inevitable, bloody revenge at the hands of Peggy Carter, obliged, happily, and with more intensity.

 _Wow, Angie._ she thought to herself. _Jackpot._


	10. Chapter 10

When she woke up the next day, Peggy's mind was divided in two.

On one hand, one of her workmates has been seriously injured and world probably never go back to field work. Even though everyone had her back and did not bear a grudge against her for what happened, a small tinge of guilt was still there. The guilt was never easy to snap out of, as Peggy knew far too well. Still, she had to speak to Daniel herself, but for now he was in a coma, so that had to wait.

Looking to her right, she saw Angie sleeping soundly beneath the covers. And that is where the second part of her mind was drifting to – the feelings of affection and companionship. The kisses they exchanged yesterday still lingered in the mind, giving the feeling of a sweet tinge in the otherwise bitter day. Suddenly, Peggy stated thinking about the future laying ahead of her. She had those thoughts sometimes, but this time, she felt she wouldn't be alone. That there would be a person standing next to her, through thick and thin, until the end.

 _Angie._

With that picture in mind, she left the apartment feeling far more positive. Her first stop before work was, of course, the hospital.

* * *

When she approached the waiting room, she felt her heart beat a little bit faster. Questions started appearing in her mind – what if they changed their minds? What if they throw her out? She didn't have time to ponder, and quickly pressed the door handle, walking inside.

The view made her chuckle slightly. Dugan was sprawled on the couch, asleep, his mouth wide open. Thompson was napping, laying on the side in one of the armchairs, while Clint was busy with his phone. He looked up and greeted her with a simple

"Hello, boss."

"Hi, Clint" Peggy responded, her tone as neutral as possible "How was the night?"

"Long." he responded, his voice tired "He's still asleep, that's all I know. They say they will try to wake him up as fast as they can, but they guarantee nothing."

"And what about Dooley?"

"He came here for a moment. I think he was still a bit shocked. He asked how you were, how Sousa was and then left."

"I can bet he has a lot on his head right now." Peggy retorted. "With Leviathan crumbling down, trying to bite back. I bet Phillips is giving him a bit of an earful as we speak."

Clint chuckled. In the corner of her eye Peggy saw Dugan turn to the side in his sleep.

"Just so you know, I don't blame you for this. You made a call that was best in the situation we were in. The fact that it didn't go as we planned… well, you can't control everything, can you?"

Peggy nodded silently, feeling slightly relieved.

"I have to go to the station." she said, after a moment of silence. "Keep me informed."

"Sure thing."

The station felt busier than ever. Officers and civilians darted in and out, as phones were being picked up and instructions were passed along. Peggy walked past the main desk and strolled upstairs towards the office. On the way, she exchanged a few gazes with other co-workers – they were mainly sympathetic. When she reached her office, she sat down at her desk and began to sort out the necessary paperwork. An hour into her shift, she heard the door being opened. It was Dooley, looking extremely tired. Their eyes met, but no words were exchanged. Dooley moved into his office, locking the door from the inside and closing the shutters.

At the end of the shift, Peggy felt uncertain. Dooley did not go out of his office at all, not even during the lunch break. His lack of willingness to talk to Peggy scared her slightly. While she knew now her team was behind her, she could not be that certain about that from her commander.

Right then, the door to Captain's office swung open. Dooley exited the room and moved towards Peggy's desk, grabbing a chair from one of the other desks. He then placed it to the right of Peggy and sat down. It was then that Peggy saw that he hadn't had much sleep – if any.

"Carter." he said, his voice strained.

"Yes, Captain" she answered, automatically.

"There's a lot of talking about you upstairs, you know." Peggy's heart sank. Was this it? Was this the end of her career in the NYPD?

"Sir, I.." she tried to respond, but Dooley's raised hand stopped her from continuing.

"Let me finish, Lieutenant." she obeyed. "Yes, yesterday was tough, and the top brass know that and have already acknowledged it. However, they were actually impressed with how you've been running things here for all those years. And while what happened to Sergeant Sousa is tragic, they are overall impressed with the Leviathan dismantle, which happened in no small part thanks to you."

Peggy felt relief wash over her. She never actively sought recognition, regardless if it was in the military of in the police, but hearing such words did calm her down at she actually felt proud of what she was able to achieve.

"Thank you, sir" she mouthed, slightly more relaxed.

"Don't thank me, thank yourself. Now, the brass decided all of you will need some breathing space. We're putting you on the backburner for now, until we figure out what to do. Is that OK with you?"

She waged her options for a while. At first, she wanted to decline the offer and just go back to work as fast as possible. Then, however, she thought of Dugan, Clint, Thompson and Angie. How would they react? The three men needed some downtime after the horrible news hit and Angie would most likely not be pleased with Peggy spending more time at the station than at home.

"Yes, sir." she answered, sternly.

"Good. You're dismissed."

* * *

The call came to her at night, a few days later. The shrill of the ringtone woke both Peggy and Angie up. Peggy quickly picked up the phone and answered. It was Thompson.

"Marge, he's awake." he said, his tone hopeful.

"I'll be there as fast as I can." she responded, before ending the call.

"English, what is it?" Angie asked, her voice sleepy.

"It's Daniel, he just woke up. I have to go, I'm sorry." Peggy answered, already on her feet.

"It's okay." Angie responded, turning to her side. "Just come back for breakfast." she said, grinning.

"Can't miss one of the best parts of the day." Peggy said, kissing her on the forehead.

She was back in the hospital in no time. She raced up the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. Finally, she reached the waiting room, but found it empty.

"The gentlemen went to see the officer." A nurse sitting in the room said. "Room 504"

"Thank you."

Soon, Peggy entered the room. Sousa was lying on the bed with his back upright. When he saw Peggy, she could see a faint smile on his lips.

"Hey there, Lieutenant. Good to see you." he said, his voice a bit raspy.

"Even better to see you awake." she responded, with happiness in her voice.

"His first question after he woke up was 'Where's Peggy?', you know." Dugan said, smirking. For a second Peggy thought Sousa was blushing.

"That's true." Clint chimed in. "And don't even try to deny it".

"I didn't say I'd deny it!" Sousa exclaimed, in faux-rage. "But it really is good to see you."

"So, how is it?" Peggy asked, with a slight tremble.

Sousa took a deep breath.

"Well, phantom pain is the worst. Aside from the fact that I will never be able to into the field with you all again."

Silence enveloped the room. Peggy then broke it, her voice quiet and low.

"Daniel, I'm so sorry…"

"No, Peggy, don't be. What has happened happened and you can't do anything about it. It's not your fault. I actually wanted to thank you. And Thompson. And all of you in fact."

"For what?" she asked, feeling slightly better.

"For saving my life. And for finally removing the excuse of not being able to fit a wooden leg for my pirate costume at Halloween."

After that, the room burst into laughter. Slightly teary-eyed one, but laughter nonetheless.

* * *

The next few weeks passed quickly. Daniel was released from hospital just a week after he woke up, now walking with a prosthetic and a crutch. Thanks to Peggy and Dooley, he wasn't discharged from the force, but instead moved to a cosy desk job. The whole team received praise and commendations for their efforts from Chief Phillips himself. Overall, work life seemed to go back on the right track after the upset.

Which made the fact that Peggy was growing an even steadier bond with Angie even better, he two women finally finding their feelings for each other after a long period of skirting around. Soon, Peggy was certain of one thing – she wanted to spend rest of her life with Angie, everything be damned.

* * *

The evening was fairly warm and cloudless. Lights of the big city blinded out most of the stars, but a few especially bright ones could be seen in the night's sky. Peggy admired the clear sky for a second, before hearing a sweet voice.

"English, you going or what?"

Peggy let out a quiet sigh before joining Angie, putting her arm around her waist. They started their stroll towards the apartment. The evening was fun for both of them – a girl's night out through and through, with a nice dinner, a few drinks and an entertaining movie to top it off. A celebration for Angie's new role, full-on Broadway, but not as the lead (not like it mattered for now, anyway).

Peggy's plans went further than that. Soon, both women reached the apartment. Right after entering, Peggy quickly closed the door, ordered Angie to stay where she was and darted towards the bedroom. Angie didn't say anything, although she was curious what the English woman had in store for her tonight.

Right after reaching the bedroom, Peggy quickly opened the small drawer in her nightstand. She quickly picked up the small, velvet box. When she grasped it, she felt her hand shiver a little, and soon her heartbeats became louder. She thought fast – she grabbed the bottle of schnapps standing on the dresser and took a big swig. Her tremble subsided, and soon she was back near the door, her hands behind her back.

"English, what are you doing?" Angie asked, stifling a giggle.

"Angie…" Peggy started, but soon stress overtook her and she didn't finish, her gaze drifting to her feet.

 _Bugger, why does it have to be so difficult?_

"English, what are you hiding there?"

"I…I…" Peggy tried to at least spit out a sentence, but that made her even more flustered.

"Peggy, please say something."

 _Oh, to hell with all this nonsense._

She quickly lurched forward and pulled Angie in for a kiss. The younger woman squeaked in surprise, but quickly recovered, reciprocating eagerly and sensually. After a while they broke apart, Peggy taking a step back.

"English, what is this all about?"

Instead of answering Peggy, knelt down on one knee and pulled the hand with the box from behind her back, opening it. Angie covered her mouth, opening her eyes as wide as she could, looking at the ring inside the box.

"Angela Martinelli." Peggy finally spoke, her voice filled with emotion "Will you marry me?"

At first Angie didn't say anything, trying to process what was happening. After a second, she suddenly saw a tear, flowing out of Peggy's eye. That quickly brought her mind back to work.

"Yes" she said, her voice filled with happiness and truthfulness. "Yes, English". she repeated, seeing Peggy smile.

For Peggy, it was the happiest moment she could ever remember. After she slipped a ring onto Angie's finger, she got back up and kissed her again. It was long and filled with hope, love and affection.

Suddenly, Peggy felt all pieces of the puzzle neatly falling into all the right places.


End file.
